


know Time for Heart

by kurisukun



Category: Homestuck
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-02-02
Updated: 2012-02-01
Packaged: 2017-10-30 12:01:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/331544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kurisukun/pseuds/kurisukun
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The game forced them to grow.  To learn who they were.  Fast.   Faster than their bodies or their hormones could possibly hope to keep up with.    They're finally free of the game and all it's strict rules and harsh penalties.  And now they'll have to reconcile.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. of my Bloody Heart

Your name is Nepeta. Today you woke up crying, and you don’t know why. It was a simple matter, to wipe the tears from your eyes and take a deep breathe, regaining your calm. And it gave you something to think about, as you unfurled yourself from the pile of Furs, stretching out your entire body from the tips of your fingers down to wriggling your toes. By the time you were on your feet, awake and ready for the day, you had decided that it was nothing more than a sad dream.

But you have nothing to be sad about! Not today! Because today, for the first time in many days, you’re ALIVE! You hop from foot to foot, testing the feeling of the floor beneath your feet, the weight of your trench coat, and the way your gloves feel against your hands. It is good to feel again. Very very good.

Good enough that you can’t even really complain about your “room” which is currently occupied by nothing more than your fur pile for sleeping, and a no-empty treasure chest. The one nice thing about dying had been getting off this shit-hole of an asteroid… but you suppose it can’t be helped. That’s the way things went. So, having tidied up your pile a little, and starting to feel the rumblings in your stomach, you slip out of your room and begin the hunt!

You find your prey in the lab, lit only by the eerie glow of his computer screen. The rest of the lab is quiet, everyone else probably off asleep. You stalk slowly, ears listening attentively, hearing only the clickity clack of hurried angry typing, before you’re on your prey, pouncing upon him.

The shuffle was short, and soon Nepeta lie on her victim, beaming happily, pinning them to the floor. “What the Fucking Fuck Nepeta!?” Was all Karkat had to say on the matter, as he lie there, shaking slightly, his eyes bloodshot.

“Good Meowning to you too Karkat. I just was happy to see you awake and thought I’d greet you.” She grinned mischievously. Okay, maybe she had some ulterior motives. Okay, she definitely had ulterior motives. One cannot lie to the shipping master, even if you ARE the shipping master. “But you don’t look like you’ve slept…” She frowned and got off of him, letting him sit back up and rub his head tenderly. “You know you don’t have to worry about the horrorterrors or the bubbles or anything anymore, right?”

“I’m used to it, okay!” He replied snappily, angrily. Nepeta wasn’t sure when the last time he’d slept was, but it was far too long ago. “I was coordinating. Needed to figure out how to get the Humans out of their fucking fucked up sessions so we can give this fucking game one big final FUCK YOU and get on with our fucking lives, as fucking retarded as they may be!”

Nepeta’s nose wrinkled a little at Karkat being so angry… but that was Karkat. It was kind of his charm… like a little kitten puffing up in the most adorable of ways. “I’m sure they can figure it out. You did. YOU managed to solve the ultimate riddle. You’re the one who got us away from Jack, away from LE, away from the paradoxes and the time travel!” She paused.

Nepeta had always wondered about her role in the game. As the Hero of heart, she was supposed to be the one most in touch with the feelings of others. God knows her own quest had forced her to attend to her own feelings… in all the quadrants and beyond. And yet Karkat had always been the one holding the party together, working with everyone to get through their romance issues. He’d been their leader… but he’d been more to them too. And maybe… just maybe… that was where she’d failed. Maybe it was time to listen to her heart more, to use what she had. To take risks. Not because Paradox space would punish her if she didn’t… they’d left that behind. But because… she wanted to.

“You’re the one who brought us all back… brought me back…” She offered, her voice slowly getting quieter, and more sincere. She focused on her heart, and let it show. In her voice, in her body. She looked at Karkat, and did as her Heart said. “Thankyou…” It was spoken like a statement. It was grammatically a statement. It was quiet. And it was the loudest red-flag of a Question she’d ever let herself ask.

It was dark, but Nepeta could clearly see the way Karkat blushed. He raised a hand to his face, rubbing at his cheek a little in order to hide his mouth, and look away. Nepeta waited, patiently. He was thinking. He was trying to figure out what to say next. She knew Karkat, very well. “better than anyone.” Her mind would whisper to her, and…. She wanted to believe it. Karkat was going to think for a bit, about his empty quadrants and what he wanted for himself, and consider the feelings of the girl sitting right next to him with her heart wide open. And Karkat… for all that the ass that he was… would not reject her. He wasn’t about to whisk her away to the land of pity pails, but it would open the channel for acknowledged dialog down the road to Flushed feelings. And that road might not go anywhere, they were young after all. Nepeta’s Heart knew just how complicated these things were. But it would start here, the door of opportunity opening up.

“Look… Nepeta… I know, that you… uh… Fuck.” He took a deep breathe, and turned to look at her, straight on, and opened his mouth to speak.

That was not the right face.

“I’m glad that you appreciate me, it’s nice that someone around here in asshole city does. But I’m not flushed for you. I’m not saying you’re a bad girl, there aren’t many of us on this floating hunk of space junk that are worth a fleeting thought in any romantic sense. There are just…”

Others. Terezi? No… he’d seemed too distant with her. Had something happened with Gamzee? She’d have to consult her shipping chart, but it seemed nigh impossible. WHO!? “I understand.” Nepeta said, standing back up straight. Her reaction surprised even herself, as an emotion she hadn’t felt since… well… right before she died came flooding back to her. It was colder this time, but unmistakable, as she walk… STALKED her way out of the room. “I’m going to have breakfast.” She declared, Karkat still sitting on the floor, stubbornly refusing to look as bad as he felt.

She dodged nimbly around Gamzee, as he barged into the lab in a huff. She felt her skin prickle and she immediately fell into a defensive stance as he rushed past. Gamzee quickly stepped to the side, holding up his empty hands. They hadn’t yet had a chance to discuss…. Things… but Gamzee knew. And he didn’t want to antagonize.

“Sis, whoa, not tryin’ to antagonize.” Gamzee shook his head and and looked back and forth between the two of them. Karkat was glad it was Gamzee. Anyone else and they might wonder what he was doing on the floor. Nepeta relaxed a little. Gamzee continued.

“They’re here!”


	2. lost in Time and Space

Your name is Dave strider. And you currently hurt more than you’ve hurt in a very long time.

It would probably help if you weren’t laid out spread eagle on what appeared to be cold metal, staring up at the blank starless emptiness of the void. This position, and the material underneath you, was not conducive to pleasantness.

It would also probably help if your sword arm wasn’t pinned to the ground, being crushed by the knees of a girl half crying half cheering. The pulling at your shirt and bouncing most certainly wasn’t helping either. It wasn’t entirely unexpected though. The ladies just couldn’t get enough of the Strider.

“Jade… Jade! You’re crushing me…” She was, and she moved pretty promptly, and that was nice. Still hurt, but it was better. Although it didn’t stop her from continuing her sob/cheer.

“We did it! We won! It’s over! Oh thank god Dave it’s over!”

Jade didn’t really need a response at the moment, and he wasn’t exactly full of wit (mostly full of “ouch”) So Dave figured he’d expend the effort to see how the others were. There was John and Rose. John was pretty much a mirror image of Jade at this point, although Rose seemed to be handling him a lot better (At least she was still standing. Cheating light heroes being overpowered…)

And behind them… The others. Dave still wasn’t quite sure how he felt about them… about… “Dirk.” But they were there, and they were safe, and okay.

“Why the Fuck must you Fuckbags of a species always be so fucking inconsiderate. Could you at least have waited till your fucking God had managed to have himself some fucking breakfast before collapsing all over my roof like some kind of Fat Red Jolly Man Who Leaves Gifts Every Half Sweep For Good Wrigglers?”

Dave made himself stand up for that. In fact, everyone turned. It was quiet for a moment, looking at one another. Karkat stood there just as Dave remembered him (he’d better have, they’d spent three years on this fucking rock together) 

And the others. They were there too, some of them rubbing sleep from their eyes, others slinking in unobtrusively behind everyone else. Dave recognized them all, from their time in the Dream Bubbles, and from the asteroid.

Gamzee hung next to Karkat, looking pretty chill considering what he’d been through recently. Sollux was there, looking almost as displeased as Karkat. Kanaya and Terezi were… in the back. They obviously wanted to see their return, but didn’t want to… be seen quite yet. Dave couldn’t blame them. They had had an ample opportunity to talk over Pesterchum. When they wanted to talk about it, he was sure they would. He wasn’t looking forward to it, that much was for sure.

And then there were the new ones. Well, newish. Dave had met them in various places in his dreams, but this was the first time he’d met them with their physical bodies intact. Tavros with his giant horns (and legs!) was standing behind Karkat, looking kind of out of place and unsure if this was where he was supposed to be. Dave was kind of glad of that. He wasn’t in a rapping kind of mood. He was also glad that Equius was with him. That meant the two trolls he most certainly DIDN’T want to talk to were corralled all into the same place.

The fish couple was hanging out, Feferi and… Eridan? He never really got to know him. From what he’d heard from the others, he didn’t really want to. Explained why he was hiding behind Feferi though. Although that didn’t appear to be stopping Vriska from wrapping an arm around his shoulder as she grinned at the humans. Dave hoped a stint in the afterlife had taught her some manners…  
And then there was… another girl troll whom he’d never really spoken to. She’d always been off, doing her own thing. Hadn’t it been… Hunting? He wasn’t sure. It didn’t matter. She stood next to Karkat, and… somehow… managed to look even madder than he did. What had been her name? Nepeta?

Karkat was still glaring at Dave as he looked them all over, prompting an inverse nod in his direction. “Sup? Didja miss me?”

“OH FUCK YOU.” Dave coulda smiled. So that was a yes, then. Well… here they were. Everyone finally brought together for the first time.

Everyone was safe. Everyone made it through. They didn’t have to fight anymore. They didn’t have to use their powers anymore. Didn’t even have powers left to use. They didn’t have to run, or be played for suckers, or be anyone’s puppets anymore. They were free. And Safe.

And that feeling of… wrongness… that Dave still felt? He prayed that it was just bad nachos, and not a sign of things to come…


End file.
